Two defensive takeaways by senior defensive back Luke Glenna kept the ball in senior quarterback Cade Sexauer’s hands, but St. Thomas’ special team’s errors led to a score by Marist College as the Tommies took a 13-7 lead into halftime Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

The matchup marks the first meeting between St. Thomas (4-2, 3-1 Pioneer Football League) and Marist College (3-3, 3-1 PFL) in a battle to break the fourth place conference tie between the two.

Glenna’s first takeaway came on an interception of Marist senior quarterback Austin Day less than two minutes after a 51-yard catch and run touchdown by St. Thomas senior tight end Max Zimmerman started the scoring for the Tommies.

Zimmerman broke multiple tackles on his way to the endzone. A high snap forced St. Thomas to attempt a two point conversion, but it was unsuccessful, holding the Tommies lead to 6-0.

The Tommies scored again on a 30-yard TD run by sophomore running back Hope Adebayo after he broke a few tackles. Adebayo had 112 yards on 12 attempts in the first half.

Adebayo is coming off of a four touchdown, 182-yard performance two weeks prior, earning him a Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week award.

Glenna’s second takeaway came on a fumble recovery at the Marist 38-yard line, but led to a St. Thomas three-and-out.

A high snap on a fourth down punt attempt led to the Red Foxes getting the ball two yards away from the endzone. Day ran in the 2-yard score on the first play of the second quarter for Marist, making the score 13-7.

The Tommies’ defense stopped the Red Foxes near the end of the half on the 2-yard line as senior cornerback Isaiah Hall took down Day for an 8-yard loss to stop a fourth-down conversion.

St. Thomas’ defense currently leads the Pioneer Football League in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and defensive pass efficiency throughout the first six games of the season.

St. Thomas’ defense held the Red Foxes to 83 yards as compared to the Tommies’ 203 total offensive yards in the half.

Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.